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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27430072">Summer of '91</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/americanhoney913/pseuds/americanhoney913'>americanhoney913</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Julie and the Himbos [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Julie and The Phantoms (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Bored Boys, Day 3 and 4 of JatP, First Kiss, M/M, Underage Drinking, not much</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:13:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,242</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27430072</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/americanhoney913/pseuds/americanhoney913</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Growing up, it's something you can measure</i><br/><i>Growing up, it happens every day</i><br/><i>Being young is something you can treasure</i><br/><i>But life is good when you're growing up</i><br/>--- Growing Up, Stephen Bishop</p><p>***</p><p>Three bored teenagers, a forbidden room, and a first kiss.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alex &amp; Luke Patterson &amp; Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Julie and the Himbos [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1959466</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>96</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>JATP Appreciation Week</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Summer of '91</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I believe that Luke and Alex shared a first kiss and this was inspired by one line of my Glowing in the Dark fic about how it went. Their relationship on the show is so adorable and I honestly believe they dated before they died. Charlie and Owen talked about it and I love them for not immediately shutting it down.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s the summer between 7th and 8th grade and Alex is <em>boooored</em>. Reggie’s parents are out of town again and his grandpa’s upstairs sleeping, the TV loud enough that they can hear it all the way down here. Alex's laying on the couch, his head next to Luke's where he sits on the floor, while Reggie sits, slumped, on the chair adjacent to the couch.</p><p>“Is there anything on TV?” Luke mumbles, strumming the shitty ukulele his parents got him for Christmas when he kept begging for a guitar. He begins to sing a song about being bored and Alex reaches over with the knitting needles in his hand to copy Luke’s tune… but on his head. He turns and glares, but just rolls his eyes and gives up. Goes back to strumming. Mrs. Horowitz always keeps her knitting stuff next to the rocking chair opposite the one Reggie’s sitting in. Sometimes Alex looks at them and wonders if Reggie’s mom’s ever thought of stabbing her husband with these. Alex was watching one of those killer shows with his dad once and a woman killed her husband with knitting needles.</p><p>“Not for kids,” Alex grumbles back. Why do shows for kids always have to be on in the mornings? It’s summer; kids aren’t just watching TV in the morning before school or on Saturdays anymore. “It’s only the news and old people shows and MTV.”</p><p>“Is there anything good on MTV?” Luke asks as Reggie picks up the humming. It’s a nonsense song with no discernible melody and a tune that’s a little off from what Luke’s strumming out and Alex’s knocking onto his head.</p><p>“I don’t know, Luke, the TV isn’t on and you’re sitting next to the remote,” Alex snaps back, but he does a few little extra taps on Luke’s shoulder to let him know he’s not actually annoyed with him. Just the fact that they can’t go anywhere because they’re 13 and can’t fucking drive; they’re not allowed to cook anything because Reggie almost burnt the house down making cookies in the toaster oven, which caused yet another fight between Reggie’s parents. The bodega down the street’s closed and the beach is off-limits because of recent kidnappings happening all over the world. So, they’re stuck in the house. Of course, tomorrow’s Saturday, so there’ll be cartoons in the morning and Reggie’s parents might let them have a little jam session in the garage if they’re lucky. </p><p>“You guys wanna see something cool?” Reggie asks as he hops off the chair. Alex looks at him upsidedown, his long hair hanging in his eyes.</p><p>Luke pushes himself up and nods, so Alex follows suit. They follow after Reggie as he sings the James Bond theme song under his breath as he pretends to sneak around the house. Alex and Luke share a look and Luke’s smile makes something in Alex’s chest twitch. It’s the crooked teeth that glint with braces under a crooked smile, and brown eyes that sparkle with mirth.</p><p>“Uh, are you sure we should be going in there?” Alex asks as they inch closer to Reggie’s dad’s study. Mr. Horowitz has forbidden anyone but himself to enter and Reggie’s called it the dungeon. Even though it’s level with the rest of the house, but Reggie’s never been the sharpest crayon in the box.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s fine.” Reggie’s head bobs up and down. “What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” He pushes the door open and Luke hurries in after him. Whatever’s going to happen behind those doors won’t be good. Alex lingers by the door and watches as Reggie skirts around the big oak desk in the middle of the room and heads towards the corner. There’s a clear door with gilded cross-crosses on it and a lock. Behind it, Alex can see bottles of different colored liquid running from clear to amber and even darker. <em>Oh no. </em></p><p>“Reg, this really isn’t a good--” Luke runs back to him and covers his mouth with a clammy palm. It smells like sweat and some kind of grease that the other boy’s been putting in his hair for most of the summer. Trying it out for the <em> ladies</em>, he’d said when they’d been at the convenience store.</p><p>“Come on, Alex,” Luke says, goading him on. He wanders over to Reggie and stands over him, hands shoved into his pockets, almost vibrating with excitement. He's deemed himself the 'bad boy' of the group, even though Alex thinks he looks like a puppy whenever he finds something he likes. If he had a tail, it would be constantly wagging. Luke's got his hands on Reggie's shoulders, massaging them as he tries to unlock the cabinet. Just the contact forms a sour taste in the back of Alex's throat and he hates it.</p><p>"Almost…" Reggie says after a few more minutes. "Almost…" There's an audible <em> click </em>and then Alex watches as Reggie and Luke hi-five. Again, the sour taste in his mouth. It kind of tastes like pickles, which he hates. "Yes!" The pale boy does a fist pump as the cabinet swings open.</p><p>"So, uh, what're we supposed to do now?" </p><p>"What do you think?" Luke gives Alex a look, as if he's the stupid one in the group when that's obviously not true. Alex has gotten them out of just as many scrapes as the other two have gotten them into. "Stu's always going on and on about how cool he is because his parents let him drink." He gestures to the cart that Reggie rolls out of the cabinet. It's a fancy cart, like the one from that Beauty and the Beast movie Chloe is super excited to see later this year. Ornate and fancy, like Reggie's parents pretend to be. Hide all the fights and the arguments behind luxury and no one suspects a thing. "Although he didn't say if it tasted good."</p><p>Alex opens one of the bottles, takes a sniff, and pulls it away, wrinkling his nose. "It smells <em>so</em> bad." He coughs. "I don't think I have nose hairs anymore."</p><p>Luke throws his arm over Alex's shoulder and laughs, loudly, from his gut. The blonde feels his skin tingle everywhere the other boy is touching him. "It's not supposed to taste good. But Stu says it's fun!"</p><p>Stu is the most popular guy at school, an 8th grader that didn't move up to high school last year, and Luke looks up to him. He's probably the worst role model and he's not very smart-- <em> Reggie </em> is smarter than him-- and he does things that parents warn you about. Alex is by no means a prude, but they're in 7th grade for fucks sake. Where his friends are always willing to take risks, Alex’s anxiety makes him overthink things and want to not go outside sometimes.</p><p>"What's the harm?" Reggie asks as he opens another bottle. "Drink this vodka, down the hatch."</p><p>Luke whoops and Alex snorts as Reggie takes a big swig of the clear liquid. He makes a funny face and kind of gurgles, liquid dribbling down his chin. He coughs and shakes his head, lips pucked like he just swallowed saltwater.</p><p>“So,” Alex stretches out the word, “what did you think?” Luke glares at him.</p><p>Reggie blinks, his eyes red and a tear slides down his cheek. “It was… gross,” he frowns, “but, uh, I’m feeling a little tingly.”</p><p>“Oh! My turn. I wanna try this stuff.” Luke picks up a bottle of whiskey and takes a more tentative sip. He coughs and his whole body shudders. “Ew…” However, this doesn’t seem to deter him because he takes another small sip. “Oh, I’m getting the tingle.” He slaps Reggie’s shoulder. “I’m getting the tingle!” Reggie giggles and hiccups a little bit, taking another sip of vodka and dribbles more on himself. He looks so stupid, like a baby, and he’s giggling like one too.</p><p>“Alex,” Luke slurs, “you gotta try something.” He waves the bottle in Alex’s face until he gives in and grabs the bottle. His stomach flips at the thought of putting his lips where Luke’s just were, but tries to shake it off as nerves to be doing something that he’s definitely not allowed to do.</p><p>The liquid burns going down his throat, like he’s one of those fire swallowers at the circus. He wants to spit it out, but Luke’s giving him puppy dog eyes and Reggie’s giggling like a madman and he wants to know what it’s like to not have that anxiety for once. He takes another tiny sip and feels it leave him, piece by piece.</p>
<hr/><p>Alex giggles as Luke leans into his side, Reggie laying across his lap and playing with the frayed drawstrings of Luke’s hoodie, pupils dilated. Everything feels floaty and Alex traces his fingers over the lines on Luke’s palm. They should probably relocate upstairs before anyone finds out they drank a tiny bit and spilled most of the liquor on the carpet. Luke fell into the cart when Reggie pushed him a little too hard and the whole cart tumbled over. Not enough to break the bottles, but enough to spill them.</p><p>They’re gonna be in so much trouble tomorrow, but there’s no anxiety accompanying that thought. Alex doesn’t feel the tightness in his chest, the want to run from the yelling he knows will come and hide Reggie under his bed or in his closet until his parents won’t come looking for him.</p><p>“We… we should probably go to bed,” Alex says through a slur. “It’s late and we’re definitely not gonna feel well in the morning.” His body feels like lead, but he pushes Reggie off his legs and lets go of Luke’s hand. Both boys blink up at him. He does still have a few brain cells left and he’s using all of them to get them in the least amount of trouble. </p><p>“I can’t feel my legs,” Reggie whines.</p><p>“Me neither.”</p><p>“Oh, come on,” Alex pulls Luke up and they both wobble until Luke leans his weight against Alex, his breath hot against the blonde’s cheek. Alex feels a full-body shudder go through him. Reggie climbs his way up to standing using Alex’s clothes to pull himself up. Reggie huffs, face ruddy, his rosacea mark on his cheek standing out against his pale skin and the blush covering it.</p><p>“I don’t feel so good,” Reggie mumbles. He smells so bad, like paint thinner, and the front of his <em>Star Wars</em> t-shirt is drenched in the vodka he spit out every time he took a sip. So he didn’t actually drink as much as he’s probably going to brag about tomorrow. Out of all of them, Luke managed to swallow maybe two bottle tops full but, like Reggie, most of it hadn’t made it to his mouth. Alex is quite proud of himself for drinking the least; it tasted disgusting and he doesn’t want to feel gross in the morning. Someone has to take care of these two knuckleheads.</p><p>“Let’s get upstairs,” Alex tells the boys as he links their arms together. The three of them kind of do a <em>Monster Mash</em> shuffle to the stairs.</p><p>“It’s like a mountain,” Reggie whispers in awe.</p><p>“Like that really tall mountain in, uh, China?” Luke blinks up at the steps. “Where’s all the snow?” He turns to Alex. “I like snow. It’s cool.” He bursts into laughter and his breath smells like alcohol, but it’s warm and Alex has this weird idea in his head to lean in. Press his lips against Luke's like his parents kiss each other. But then Reggie pushes into his back and the three of them go sprawling onto the floor at the bottom of the stairs.</p><p>“Sorry.”</p><p>Alex pushes himself up and watches as Luke and Reggie <em>GI Joe</em> crawl behind him as he uses the banister to help balance himself. He eventually gets to the top of the stairs and can’t help but laugh. Reggie and Luke have paused halfway up the stairs, leaning against each other, exhausted. “Really? You guys have, like, five more steps.” Luke just groans in response, dramatic as always, waving his arm in Alex’s direction. The blonde grumbles to himself about how stupid his friends are and grabs Luke’s clammy hand, holding the railing with the other, and trying to drag the other boys up the stairs.</p><p>“Ow…” Luke says when the edge of each stair digs into his ribs, but Alex has no sympathy. “Ow… Ow… Own… Ow…” When the brunette reaches the top of the stairs, he smiles at Alex and it makes the blonde feel squirmy inside. He looks over Luke’s shoulder to see Reggie holding onto his belt loops, blinking up at him with fuzzy eyes and a wobbly smile. Luke’s pants are halfway down his butt from dragging Reggie up the stairs, showing off the other boy’s boxers. Alex yelps and lets go, feeling his face go hot “Ow.”</p><p>Reggie crawls over Luke, earning an <em> oof </em> from the brunette, and eventually, army crawling his way to his room. Luke gives Alex a look before scrambling up, fixing his pants, and stumbles after Reggie, using the wall to hold himself up. The blonde tries to shake those weird thoughts from his head and wobbles for a moment, trying not to stare at Luke’s butt, before he follows after them.</p><p>When he finally makes his way into Reggie’s room, the pale boy is under his <em>Star Wars</em> sheet, head under his space trio pillow, letting out pathetic little groans as he balls up. Only his hand is visible, keeping the pillow over his head. Luke, on the other hand, is leaning against the wall on the trundle bed next to Reggie’s own, rubbing his temple with his thumbs. His braces glint in the moonlight coming in through the window, his eyes bloodshot, cheeks ruddy.</p><p><em> He’s beautiful</em>, Alex thinks before he can stop himself, and his heart stutters. His brain rages against him, remembering his dad yelling when he found that one Elton John CD he got from Reggie for his birthday last year. His dad almost threw his beer bottle into the TV when those two women kissed on <em> L.A. Law </em>back in February and he never watched another episode or allowed anyone else to.</p><p>Alex shoves his hands into his pockets, which is a bad idea when he stumbles and lands on the trundle bed next to Luke, his face smushed into Reggie’s <em>Jurassic Park</em> sheets, the roaring T-Rex tasting like cotton in his mouth. God, he’s not ready for tomorrow morning.</p><p>“You okay, buddy?” Luke asks as his fingers run over Alex’s short hair. He likes it longer, like Luke’s, but his mom made him cut it because she didn’t want their church friends to think badly of their “perfect” family. The brunette’s hands feel good in his hair and Alex mumbles as he scoots closer to Luke, butts his head against his leg.</p><p>“M’f’n.”</p><p>“My tongue feels like sandpaper,” Luke says out of nowhere. “Loo’.”</p><p>Alex pushes himself up and moves to sit in front of Luke, on top of his legs. He settles himself down and leans forward, looking at Luke’s tongue when he sticks it out. Alex still feels a bit light and floaty, even though he didn’t drink more than a sip, and so he puts his hands on Luke’s shoulders to lean even closer.</p><p>“It looks like sandpaper.” Alex taps his tongue and it feels wet. He wrinkles his nose and pulls away. “Gross. It’s wet.”</p><p>“I’sh ma ton’ge.” He licks his lips and smiles, eyes glinting in the moonlight, just like his braces. They’re metal with little blue plastic pieces and there are a few mac and cheese chunks stuck there, but he still looks pretty. He smells like the alcohol that’s probably dried on his shirt, lemongrass of his shampoo, and sweat. <em> Handsome</em>, Alex reminds himself. <em> Men are handsome. </em> But Luke doesn’t look handsome in the moonlight; he looks pretty. <em> Beautiful. </em></p><p>That warm feeling is back in the pit of Alex’s stomach. He doesn’t know what it means, but it’s kind of like the feeling he has when he sees the cute older brother on <em>The Adventures of Pete &amp; Pete</em> or when Reggie makes them watch <em>Star Wars</em> and Alex can’t decide if he wants to focus on Luke or Han because they’re both good looking. But Luke is sitting in front of him, smiling that crooked smile with crooked teeth and braces and he’s beautiful in the moonlight and Alex’s inhibitions are still low and Luke’s are lower because he drank more and… and… and…</p><p>Alex leans forward and pushes his mouth against Luke’s and he can feel a tiny bit of pressure as Luke responds. It’s wet and tastes like the oddest mixture of bourbon and whiskey and mac and cheese, but Alex’s heart feels like it’s going to explode in his chest.</p><p>Their mouths don’t move like the people in the movie’s do. Reggie’s made them watch <em> The Empire Strikes Back </em>so many times that he remembers watching the passion between Han and Leia and wishing he was Leia at some point during the scene. But it’s also warm and new, with something bubbling between them.</p><p>Luke mumbles something against his mouth and Alex pulls back, a shy smile on his face.</p><p>“Wow,” the brunette says, his eyes almost blissed out and fuzzy. Alex can’t tell if it’s from the alcohol or the kiss, but he himself is definitely feeling the effects of the kiss. His whole body feels tingly in weird places, but he smiles when Luke gives him one in return.</p><p>“We should probably go to sleep,” Luke says softly and Alex slides off his legs. He crawls to the head of the bed, where there are two pillows. The trundle bed is the only other place to sleep besides next to Reggie, but the pale boy likes to starfish and kick, so Luke and Alex usually share a bed. Luke follows him and they face each other, both blushing and quiet. He’s glad his first kiss was with Luke, even if he might never get to kiss the other boy again. Because boys aren’t supposed to kiss boys, they’re supposed to kiss girls.</p><p>“Luke?”</p><p>“Yeah?” His voice is a whisper in the darkness, only broken up by Reggie finally reaching that stage of sleep where he snores. Loudly.</p><p>“I love you.” Alex’s fingers tingle as he reaches out to tangle his fingers with Luke's, still a little punch drunk and giddy from the kiss.</p><p>Luke smiles and it’s blinding. “I know,” he says with a chuckle and Alex pushes his shoulder until Luke rocks once and then comes back.</p><p>“Okay, Han Solo, time to sleep.”</p><p>There’s a few moments of silence and Alex thinks Luke fell asleep when his voice echoes in the space between them.</p><p>“Wait, does that make you Leia?”</p><p>Alex takes the pillow from behind his head and wacks Luke a few times with it until their giggling fades into silence. The blonde puts the pillow back behind his head and moves so he's nosing into Luke's neck. The brunette wraps his arm around Alex and pulls him closer. "Good night, Alex," he mumbles, just a hint of a slur, into Alex's hair.</p><p>"Night, Han," Alex responds and falls asleep to the sound of Luke's laughter.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Let me know what you thought! This was fun to write and I don't know much about getting drunk as a kid so I didn't write them as super drunk.</p><p>Alex had the least with maybe a soda bottle cap full, Luke had maybe 2, while Reggie had three and change but most of it ended up on his shirt. So they didn't drink a ton and I honestly believe they probably don't drink afterward.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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